A house of many Kinds
by Nikole StarGazer
Summary: Legalos and Gimli find themselves on the journey that they have promised each other after the war was over. What they didn't know was that thier journey would turn to a whole nother adventure when they find a small cottage in the forest.


A home of many kinds By: StarGazer  
  
The sun shone brightly through the curtains in the window and then small figure in bed only rolled over and pulled the blanket more over it's head. On leg was sticking out of the side, and as soon as the body registered the cold, the leg concealed it's self once more beneath the blankets.  
But before the form could sleep peacefully any more a familiar knock of someone telling her that it was time to wake, footsteps faded away as she blinked awake and rolled over throwing the pillow over her head.  
Realizing what time it is and knowing how busy the day was it pulled back the blanket and sat up yawning.  
The form of a young girl replaced the form underneath the blankets. She looked no more then 18 or 19 years old, which told nothing of her real age.  
She yawned and stretched her still sleeping muscles. Rubbing her eyes she stepped on the cold wood floor of her room and went over to the window and opened the curtains more. The outside world was shone to her as the morning light cast a glow over the garden that was below the window, and then over the small grove of trees that lay on the boundary of the land. She smiled as a lone figure ran through the trees. Already her companions were awake.  
With a deep inhale of breath she caught the faint smell of breakfast being cooked. A small smile played on her face and she drew a robe around her self as she went out of her door, to follow her nose to the source of the smell.   
In the kitchen she found a small hobbit working away tending to the fire in the fireplace.  
"Good morning, Sam." She said sleepily.  
He looked up and saw her as she sat down at the table. "Good morning Miss Ewerin," He said in his usual tone. He had always been the most polite around the house, but maybe that was from being a servant of another for so many years. Now that he no longer held that position and was just a dear friend staying with him he had no idea what to do with himself. So they let him stay to his old ways and took hardly any notice of it.  
Other members of the house began to follow thier noses also into the kitchen. They were a mix of races. Men, elves, halflings, and dwarves alike. Many of them held a name in a high place but liked the comfort of living simply. They were a small company but of them Ewerin was the only female out of them, but her heart belong to only one of them, the rest all saw her as someone who was like a dear sister to them.  
  
~*~  
  
Gimili and Legolas, the elf and the dwarf had found her. They were a strange pair to see, but nonetheless friendly with each other.  
  
It was when the dark days were over and the two fulfilled a promise that they made to each other to travel both the woodlands and the mountains, getting to know the homeland of each other's kin.  
She had found them walking in the woods that she lived in. She had lived alone for many years, the storm of war never touching her little dwelling. She had lived in peace and never was told that a mighty war was waged on the outskirts of her lands. So there she had lived, never to be seen by man, elf, or orc enemy.  
Elves themselves had few stories and songs of a maiden that lived in the woods, never knowing of anything that went on outside of her small grove. They were fairly new and most were just a tale, made up on things forgotten from the past.  
Her mother had stayed there and only ventured away from her home when a man had stumbled onto her home, weak and weary from hard battle. She had cared for him and he had fallen in love with her. That is how she had come about, but a fever had caught her father by storm and left her mother to bear her alone.  
As she grew up her mother became weak and soon died from this. Her body had no real strength to keep her small frame going.  
So there Ewerin stayed until the day came when an elf and dwarf came to her door, wondering what they had found.  
They had knocked on the cottage door, when she opened it she gasped in surprise. She had never seen anything like the two figures before her. Ewerin slammed the door and barred it.  
"Maiden of the wood?" The elf called to her through the wood of the door. "Fear not. I am a friend, an elf of Mirkwood. Legolas Greenleaf is my name."  
"I know nothing of which you speak, please leave and do not return, I only wish to stay here." Her voice trembled with fear. She had not spoken to another being that could talk the same as her save her own mother.  
"We shall not harm you, we are just travelers and only wish for some refuge."  
The story of her mother came back into her mind; she remembered the smile on her mothers face when she had told her the story of her father. She was so happy, and grateful that he had come along. Ewerin wanted the same thing but she had no courage left in her to open her doors to these strange people.  
  
Staying silent for a moment, thinking of what to do next, she sighed at last and went over to the door. She opened it slowly and kept her eyes down cast from these new comers. Her mother had told her that her father had held her with his eyes when he finally had the strength to open them.  
"I am Ewerin, I know not of this maiden of the wood you speak of. I will let you stay here for as long as you wish, though I do not think how well my hospitality will be since I have never had guests inside before, save for the animals and various creatures that visit my door." She said with small glance at them.  
The dwarf was just about her height; her's not being tall. The elf towered over her and she sank away from even his shadow.  
"We thank you Lady Ewerin. We shall not bother you for any longer then we need." The dwarf said to her.  
She stepped aside, "Please step inside, I know little of your people but they wouldn't keep visitors waiting on the threshold."  
They stepped inside of the small cottage and Ewerin showed them where they could spend the night and place their packs there. They carried weapons that made her frightened.  
A mighty axe is what the dwarf handled as someone might do to a loved one. The elf carried a graceful bow and a quiver full of arrows. He also had two curved knives attached to his back.  
They both saw the fear of the weapons in her eyes and they concealed them with the cloaks that they wore around thier necks, gifts of the Lothlorien Queen, Glanderil.  
  
"Do not fear the weapons we carry they are only for our safety and would only be used against an evil." Legolas said as he turned to see her in the doorway.  
"I only fear them because I know not of them. They are both beautiful and fearful at the same time."  
"Do not worry, these weapons will not be used against you, young lass." The dwarf reassured her.  
"He is right for we do no fight those who are kind enough to shelter us."  
"Then what about the ones who refuse to?" She said wondering what would have happened if she had chosen to not house them.  
"Then we would not bother them any more. If they choose not to house us then we would be on our way. But since we have made many of friends this past year, most are honored to have us."  
Ewerin was silent. She had no idea who these two men were, and she had a voice in her mind saying that she shouldn't trust them.   
She had left them to thier selves as she went on with her daily tasks. Becoming too relaxed with her work she started to sing softly to herself as she tended to the wildflower bed next to her cottage. It was a nursery rhyme that her mother had sung to her many times. It made the flowers seem sweeter.  
But to her surprise another voice caught her ears. It was another voice, hardly a whisper, singing the same rhyme that she was. He eyes searched for the source, and they came upon the elf. He was sitting up in a tree on leg dangling off the branch he perched himself on. His eyes were closed, and he sang softly the child's song that she knew too well. But the song took a turn and he began to sing in a different language. It was beautiful and the words flowed over each other like water running over river rocks in a stream.  
Ewerin went over to the tree and sat beneath him leaning against the tree. She sang the song with him in her own language. Thier voices matched the harmony of the song and it rose and fell with two words, the same meaning, and different dialects. Thier song spread through the wood and everything seem to stop as thier song spread through out the wood.  
  
Sweet child, Sweet child  
Do not fear, do not cry  
The time has come to sleep  
And dream as only a child can.  
  
Lovely child, Lovely child  
Rest your head  
Darkness will soon come to pass  
And the morning sun will welcome you  
In all of it's warmth and beauty.  
  
She sang the last to verses on her own as he too started to notice her singing with him. He had noticed her at first but as thier voices combined he couldn't find her anymore. He looked down and saw her there leaning on the same tree he was in and saw that she was starting to fall asleep.  
Legolas climbed down as silent as any elf and knelt next to her. She was no elf, but how did she know the rhyme that was taught to him as an elfling. Also what had made him remember it from so many centuries long ago? He was now just only reaching his 3,000th year and that was still young for the elves. He faintly remembered his mother, the one who after so many nightmares had sung it to him to calm his nerves. He remembered clinging to her as though something was going to pull him from her and she would never again comfort him. But as he grew nothing had happened to her and he had seen her always there for him, and wept when he left, silently but as the same time aloud for the whole world to hear.  
Silently he wondered what attracted him to this mortal female. Somewhere in the back of his mind told him that she was not a mortal, and that she had seen many years, even as many as he had.  
Ewerin opened her eyes to catch those of the elf. They were as green as any evergreen she had come across. It was what she feared at first, she couldn't take her eyes from him. She tried but her will was not strong enough.  
  
Legolas stared into the depths of her eyes, they looked as though they had been a vortex, and he was falling into them endlessly.  
He was pulled back to reality when a hand touched the side of his face. It was soft and trembled slightly as though it was doing something that either it wasn't supposed to be doing or was fearful of what it touched.  
  
Ewerin touched the side of Legolas's face. It was as soft as any flower petal that she had ever felt. His eyes never left hers but they showed surprise when her hand touched his cheek. They seemed to come back from a place far away. She wondered what they had seen.  
"Legolas?" Her voice said, hardly above a whisper, and only Legolas's elven ears could catch.  
"Ewerin..." He trailed off as though he only sighed her name in a dream. His own hand rose to touch her own face.  
His touch was soft on the side of her face. They did not move for moments, until Legolas started to rub his thumb over her cheek. Ewerin blush furiously and looked away.  
Legolas saw the surprise in her eyes and she down cast her eyes. He drew away from her for a moment, feeling the same heat rise to his own face. They stayed there uncomfortable, Ewerin not knowing what to do, and Legolas wondering what to do. Finally he smiled, and lifted her chin so that thier eyes met again, but he was careful to have them not meet again.  
"There are many things that I have to ask you Ewerin of the wood. But for now I think that your garden needs to be finished." He stood up and went to go, but she held his hand.  
He looked down at her, not knowing what had happened.  
"Legolas, please, don't go." She said very softly.  
Legolas sat down in front of her and crossed his legs over one another. Ewerin still held his hand between them. He sat there wondering why she had stopped him from leaving.   
Ewerin hardly heard his words as he stood up to leave. Her heart almost ripped it's self out of her chest to see him turn from her. She grabbed a hold of his hand. It was just as soft as his face was and against her own calloused ones they were like silk.  
"Legolas, please, don't go." She said, but she could hardly hear her own voice as she spoke them. But he had heard her and sat down again in front of her. She still held his hand not realizing it. It was much more bigger then her own and she took it in both her hands running her fingers over the palm.   
Legolas watched her as she studied his hand. He had no idea why she was doing this, when he had first seen her by the door she was even afraid to look at him. Gimili told him that she was not to be trusted, though he seemed not to fearful that she would hurt either of them, he still gave words of caution to Legolas. But not seeing any danger in letting her get to know him he watched her as she just carefully held his hand in her two own.  
Her hands were soft but yet rough, as though she had done a lot of work with them. They held the same slender frame as most women's hands would, but also were very strong if they were to grip something like a trowel or an axe. She took his hand and placed it back on her cheek, her head leaned against it. Legolas shifted closer to her so that his arm did not have to reach very far.  
  
Ewerin examined his hand, wanting to know how his hands were made, and what made them so soft. Never had she felt something so fine. She placed it on her face again and rested her head upon his hand. He moved closer to her. She wasn't so fearful of him anymore. In his eyes she had seen many things, not knowing where they came from or where they lead. But what she had seen was years on years of age. Memories flashed before her, not realizing what she saw. There were many others there and the ones that were the most clear she saw were full of fear at one point and then at another they were full of joy and relief.  
She had liked the look of some of them, they had seen kind and very wonderful to be with. She sighed.   
Legolas had no idea what to do next, he had been with plenty of she- elves before but now he had no idea what he should do with the woman. She was not as mortal as he had thought and it showed in her eyes. Thier depths were deeper then the sea its self, and there seemed to be no end to them.  
"Ewerin. How many summers have you seen?" He asked in elvish, forgetting whom he was speaking to.  
She looked up at him and smiled. "That was very beautiful, but I cannot understand what you are saying."  
Legolas blushed slightly and smiled, "Forgive me but I often do that, slip into my own tongue, when I am at peace. It comes more naturally to me then your common speech."  
"I would listen to your words even if you were saying ugly things to me." She smiled showing her teeth and laughed a little. "Though I feel as though you would never say anything of the sort."  
"To you, I would never even dream of speaking such evil and dark words. They are rude, and would ruin the light that is naturally about you." Legolas couldn't stop him from saying it.  
Ewerin blushed, smiled and cast her eyes down to her hands that were in her lap. Instead of lifting her face he bent low to meet her eyes. She caught him doing so and looked up at him. Thier eyes met again but the gaze was broken when Legolas leaned foward and pressed his lips against hers.  
  
Ewerin stopped. She froze. This new sensation that was put upon her made her senses fall and everything was just felling that kiss that they shared. Her own mouth began to respond and accepted his lips. He dew closer, sitting next to her and leaning across her one hand at her side holding him up. She put a hand on his shoulder and twisted her fingers around a strand of his long blonde hair.  
It was just as soft as his touch was. He drew his arms around her and pulled her over to him draping her across his lap.  
  
Legolas did not know what took over him at that moment; he just knew that it was the right thing and his heart agreed. He drew closer to her and found that it wasn't enough. He wanted her closer to him. He took her into his arm and placed her onto his lap. She was unbelievable light, just like him, but yet she still was no elf. He ran his hands through her hair. Legolas could feel his need growing even more, and could tell that lust was getting the better of him. He didn't want that to take him again. The last time that it did, ended up with him having a broken heart for years. He had to take her gently, she was scared, he could tell by the way she trembled each time his hands move around in her hair on her back.  
Knowing that he couldn't bed her right there in the middle of her garden he kept himself in check and made sure that he wouldn't be driven into that.   
Ewerin trembled a bit under his gentle hold. His hands glided in her hair, every once and a while his hands would graze her back and every touch that he made her tremble even more. Her hands took the sides of his head and very slightly her hand grazed the top of his ear.   
All at once everything that he was trying to keep with in himself was sent foward. His kisses grew deeper and more powerful. His tongue prodded her mouth and searched for spots that produced a small sigh.  
It was the small touch of his ear that made him break loose. That was the one weakness that all elves shared, and it was the one most point where all of thier pleasure could be found. He leaned foward placing her on the ground and leaned over her. Thier kiss did not break until she was fully aware of him on top of her. She put her hands on his shoulders and pushed him gently away from her. Thier lips parted.  
"Legolas..." She said almost fearful. "I do not think this is the right time to be doing this sort of thing."  
He blinked at her, out of the surge of passion and lust that was released he had not realized what he had been doing. He withdrew off of her and sat there trying to think. "I am sorry Lady Ewerin, I do not know what came over me."  
She sat up and put a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head to face her. "Thank you...Legolas."  
Legolas was confused.  
"Thank you Legolas." She repeated, "I was afraid that I would not know the love that my mother and my father once knew. But now I understand why she liked talking so much of my father after he died. Even if she did miss him, she still remembered how much he loved and meant to her. I was afraid that I would never be able to feel the same way about another being. Not that I sought any one. I only wished before you came to live alone, in peace, within my forest."  
Legolas looked at her sadly. Not knowing what it was like to never be loved by someone else is one thing that he had never felt. How alone it made him see her and he wondered if she had ever even had a simple friend. He embraced her gently. She returned the favor and rested her head on his shoulder.   
Legolas could hardly contain himself when her soft breath was next to his ear, but he did and was happy that she pulled away from him.  
She looked at him strangely as his face was twisted in his own battle against himself.  
She blinked at him. "Legolas what is the matter?"  
"Nothing." He said very quickly not knowing if he was going to win or not.  
"Legolas are you hurt at all? You look like someone who is in pain." She thought for a moment. "Was it something that I did? I don't mind the truth."  
"No," he said, but he couldn't lie to her, "and yes. But it is nothing bad. I am only in pain because I battle my self from taking you."  
Ewerin blushed fully.  
"Every absent touch you gave my ears dove me more into the lust that I did not want to show." He saw how confused she was, "I am what they call an elf. We are immortals, and are very different from man. Our ears are sensitive to sound and touch as well. Our eyes more keener then any man's could be, and we can endure much."  
Ewerin let her curiosity get the best of her and she raised a hand to the side of his head. She let one finger trace over the pointed ear.  
Legolas shuddered with the soft touch. Ewerin pulled her hand away slightly just from the surprise of the elf's reaction. She never expected him to shudder under her touch. She took her other hand and did the same to the other ear, it received a bit more of reaction as Legolas gasped and clutched at the ground beside him.  
  
Ewerin had no idea what she was doing to him and gentle traced both ears with gentle fingers.   
Legolas froze as her hands went up to the side of his head. He sat there tense not know what she was going to do. Then as he finger ran over the sensitive skin of his ear a chill ran up and down his spine.  
  
She had pulled her hand away after but her other arm reached up to the other side of his head and did the same to the other ear. He could hardly contain himself as he gasped and clutched at the ground keeping himself from pouncing on top of her.  
Soon she began tracing both ears at the same time and it almost drove him to he brink of insanity. He shook with the pleasure that it gave him and tore at the earth under his hands.  
  
He had to make this stop. Between gasps of breath he managed only one word, "Stop..."  
  
It was barely a whisper but he hands quickly came away from him and he gasped for air trying to get a hold of himself.   
Ewerin stared curiously as Legolas's body shuddered and his breath came in shallow gasps at every small touch she gave him.  
Ever so quietly she heard his soft voice say one word. "Stop..."  
She immediately pulled her hands away from him and wondered if she had done something wrong. Not really knowing that she had drove the elf to so much pleasure that he could hardly contain himself. She stared at him as he gasped for breath.  
Ewerin watched him and once he found that his breath started to return to normal she spoke. "Legolas?"  
  
Legolas started to regain himself once more and then he heard her voice speaking to him. "Legolas?"  
He looked at her with half glazed over eyes. A child like innocence shown in her eyes. 'She really has no idea what she has just done to me.' Legolas thought to himself.  
She just sat there and looked at him curiously. His wonderment grew for this being that sat before him. She knew noting of love but yet she could drive him to the heart of his pleasure centers.  
His hand caressed the side of her face and he placed a lock of hair behind her own ear.   
Ewerin sat there wondering what was going through the elf's mind at the moment, was he angry with her? But once he looked up she could see that his eyes were just as full of wonderment as her's were. He reached up his hand and placed it lovingly on her cheek. He then took a piece of hair that had fallen next to her face and placed it behind her ear. With out realizing it she herself shuddered with content.   
Legolas pulled his hand away as a small shudder fell to the form beneath his hand. He still did not realize that she was still somewhat fearful of him and shuddered under his touch.  
"Ewerin," He said softly. "You say that you do not know how to love yet you are able to bring one pleasure with out knowing."  
Ewerin just stared at him. "What do you mean by that?"  
"You said yourself that you have never loved another before, and know not of it. But yet you know how to drive someone over the edge."  
Ewerin hand no idea what he was talking about. "You are a wonderment to me, Legolas. But still I do not know what you talk of. I was merely just curious to see if what you say about yourself was true, and your reactions were just as curious." She said the innocence shown clearly in her eyes.  
Legolas sighed. He had no idea that he would have to explain everything about love, both being the clean and the dirty parts. He soon realized that lust had no meaning to her because she had never felt it.  
"Ewerin, I have both much to explain to you and ask you, but that will come later. You have things to tend to and I must talk with Gimili for I sense that he is waking."  
"Gimili?" She wondered for a moment. "Your companion? I knew not of his name before you spoke of it just now. There is much that I would like to know about him, and I must try out this new theory on ears."  
Legolas grabbed her shoulders, he shook his head. "No I must explain on thing to you, and that is you much never try this on another being, you have no idea why effect it will have on others. It is a very different thing and most of the time people are uncomfortable with it. You must keep it to yourself. I will explain much to you later and you will under stand then but for now tend you garden and let your mind stay on them." He kissed her forehead and stood up.  
  
Ewerin stood up with him and he left her side. Her heart was saddened when he left but the memory of his promise let the sadness lift a bit. She sighed deeply and went over to her flowers humming softly.   
Legolas went inside of the cottage and went into the room, which him and Gimili shared. The dwarf was still sleeping. The part about him waking soon was a lie. But in the end the dwarf would be awake.  
Legolas shook his friend awake and Gimili looked up to Legolas's face, and frowned. The elf wore a face of concern.  
"What is wrong now elf? And why do you wake me?" Gimili said gruffly as he sat up in bed and grumbled. He was having a pleasant dream.  
"It is Ewerin."  
"And what about the lass?" Gimili said wondering if his prediction about her was true.  
"She does not know of love, and yet she...well..."  
Gimili was stuck. The elf was hard for words and he placed a hand on the shoulder of his dear friend. "Come on elf out with it."  
Legolas looked at him with mournful eyes. "I am afraid that I have fallen for her."  
The dwarf sighed, "I cannot get a wink of sleep with out you getting yourself in trouble now can I elf. And they say that the elves are the wisest of all Middle Earth. But alas, I have found the most foolish one of them all."  
Legolas glared at his joking friend, although the comment was meant as a joke, Legolas didn't find that it suited the subject. He punched the dwarf in the arm and received a laugh in response.  
"Alright Maser Elf. I will listen, but remember I am the one who had first warned you about her. I felt as if she was something not to be feared but to be avoided."  
"I know you have warned me, but when I looked into her eyes I saw the depths of them if they do have an end I never go that far. They were deeper then the seas themselves. It felt as if I was spinning in them falling into the dark void that was held behind them. She saw in my eyes too. She saw my past I fear, but she was not afraid of me."  
Gimili waited until his voice faded from him and sighed to the elf, as he was lost in his own thoughts. "I just hope that you have done nothing to bad."  
"No." Legolas said, as he was still lost in thought. "But... I almost did as she found the one place that we are all vulnerable."  
"And what may that be?" Gimili asked not knowing too much of elves. The most he knew of them were Legolas and some of them that he had met on the past year's journey.  
"Our ears. They may be great for hearing things that others miss but they are just as likely sensitive to touch." Legolas said slightly blushing as the memory of her touch still lingered in his mind and he shivered for a moment.  
Gimili watched him, "Ears?"  
"Yes. And then her curiosity got the best of her and she..." He squirmed for a moment, getting a feeling of sickness to his stomach. He was great friends with Gimili but this conversation felt awkward. He cursed himself in elvish.  
"She didn't do anything to hurt you did she?" Gimili asked wanting to know what put his elf friend in so much turmoil.  
"No but it was the total opposite, if you catch what I am saying."  
Gimili nodded. He now understood why this was so hard for his friend to tell him of this meeting that he had with thier host. He placed a hand on Legolas's shoulder.  
"She had no idea what she was doing because she knew not of love. I am going to explain it to her later, though I do not think that it will be something easy for me to do."  
Gimili chuckled. "You just seem to drag yourself into more trouble then you wish for Legolas, you crazy elf. You are the one who had gotten yourself involved and you must pull yourself out. I will help you, but explaining things like that is not something that I am very easy with. I will help you if you need it but do not rely fully on me."  
Legolas smiled. "I only ask for your support. If anything."  
Gimili looked at his friend, "You must think about what you are to say, but I also wish to know of this lass, and see what she wonders on this. You rest now if you can. We have had a long journey and a soft bed was hard to find."  
Legolas nodded and Gimili went out of the room his boots clunked heavily on the wood floors. When his footsteps faded Legolas flung himself on to his back and stared up at the ceiling, wondering out of all of his years, why this had come on him now?   
Gimili followed a sweet sound that came to his ears as he neared the back of the cottage. He stepped outside into the garden where he found Ewerin tending to her garden.  
He cleared his throat to get her attention and she stood up and turned to meet him.  
"Hello, did you sleep well?"  
"Yes, very well thank you." He stood there not knowing what to say next. "Is there anything that I can help you with? Your kindness has been great to us, and I wish to repay you in some way."  
Ewerin was taken aback by his offer, and she pondered to herself about what task she could set him to. "There is some firewood that I need to be chopped."  
"I could be some help there. My axe can get through anything like a knife through butter."  
"Then that is something you can help me in." She smiled to him. She had become more comfortable to having someone else around her thanks to Legolas, and she found that Gimili wasn't as threatening as he looked. She rather liked having the presence of the dwarf around her. He gave off a sort of friendly energy that made Ewerin trust him more at first then Legolas. It also helped that he was shorter then she was and did not tower over her.   
With both of them swinging axes and letting the wood fall into two halves on to the ground, it fell into a rhythmic beat. Soon though Ewerin's arms grew weary and she stopped to wipe the sweat from her brow. Most of the pile that she had collected from before was now much greater then what she had started with thanks to thier efforts. She looked up and the sun welcomed her with its bright rays.  
Ewerin closed her eyes and sighed. Her mind strayed back to Legolas, and she wondered where he was now. She smiled as the sent of him came back to her. He smelled of trees and fresh grass, and of wind that carried a fresh new clean sent.  
She sighed and looked back to Gimili who now was wiping his own brow.  
"You are true to your words, Gimili."  
"Aye, and you are skilled more then I thought you would be with an axe."  
Ewerin smiled at him, "You must be as hungry as I am. I will take some of this wood inside and start to cook some lunch for us, and maybe Legolas will join us, if he hasn't found something else to do."  
"I will place some of this into piles, while you do so, and I think the Elf will find that he cannot miss the meal that you will serve,"  
Ewerin blushed, as she picked up an arm full of wood and went inside.  
  
  
Legolas didn't move for a while, he looked up at the sky that was in the window he laid under. He could hear Ewerin and Gimili start to chop wood. With that in his mind he started to feel the weariness drift over him and he soon fell into a peaceful sleep.  
But even then he couldn't get Ewerin out of his mind. She walked inside of his dreams, just staying on the out lining of his sight. He caught glimpses of her and that was all. Through out his whole dream he searched for her but saw nothing more then a shimmer of her golden hair, or the light of her bright smile.  
He became frustrated with himself inside of the dream and tossed and turned. Throwing the blankets and pillows over the room. Legolas didn't know what he was doing until he woke with a start. Out of nowhere he saw her face come very close to his own, and it startled him.  
His elven ears picked up footsteps now inside of the cottage and he recognized the tone of voice as it hummed a small tune. It was Ewerin. He sighed to himself. He still hadn't come up with a good explanation on how he would explain love to her. He figured that it would be equally as hard as if anyone was to give her the same information. Even Lord Elrod would have a hard time in placing the words. Gandalf even! Was there no one that he could think of that could give her this talk rather then him. Aragon would probably be in the predicament as he was in, the hobbits wouldn't be any help, the lord of Rohan, Emor, and he surly wouldn't be able to tell her. Then his mind fell on Eowyn. She was a female just the same as Ewerin. But would she be there if they went to her? She was now the captain of a guard now, and was off patrolling the lands, even though there was nothing to patrol against.  
But if she wasn't who could he turn to? Lothlorien? He surely couldn't ask the Lady of Light out right if she could explain the ways of love to this seemingly mortal woman.  
Arwen? Yes, she could explain it to her. But how could he get Ewerin to leave her home, she had never been far from this cottage in all her life. How was Legolas to get her to Rivendell? And then even if he did get her to leave would she even talk to Arwen?  
Legolas sat up and pulled his knees closer to himself thinking of what to do. The only solution to his problem would be either him explain it to Ewerin or take her to Rivendell to have Awern explain it.  
This was not going to be easy.   
Ewerin started to cook and heard the sound of thrashing from the other room. She thought of Legolas and went to see what was wrong. But it stopped soon, and she only peered around the corner just enough to see that he had only been dreaming. He lay there silently for sometime, thinking to himself and she left him to his own thoughts figuring that it was impolite to stare.  
She went back to the kitchen and after a while Gimili came inside. She pointed over to an inside waterspout where he could was his hands and face.  
"The meal will be ready soon, if you want to go and see if Legolas will join us." She called over her shoulder as she stirred something in a pot.  
Gimili didn't answer he just walked out of the kitchen and went to go and see to Legolas.  
He found the elf sitting with his knees drawn up underneath his chin and his mind off somewhere else.  
"Elf, are you hungry?" He asked just noticing the room too. "And what happened to the bed?"  
Legolas half smiled, "I had a troubled dream and threw everything from me." Legolas said standing up and stretching. He picked up the bed materials and made the bed again. Then he walked over to Gimili. "I think I have a solution to my problem."  
"And what may that be?"  
"I want to take her to Arwen. She will know how to place the words easier then I ever can."  
Gimili sighed, "If that is what you want, but I want to know how you will get Ewerin to leave her home. That is one thing Master Elf that I will greatly want to know."  
"I also Gimili, I also."  
  
The two found themselves soon in front of a hot bowl of stew. The smell of it was just enough for them to thank the stars that they had a hot meal. It was the first one that they had in days, and it wasn't that bad either.  
Ewerin seemed pleased with herself that her guests were happy with thier meal.  
"SO do you like it?"  
"It's very good." Gimili said as he was just finishing the bowl off.  
Ewerin looked to Legolas. He was halfway through his own and his mind seemed to be off somewhere else. Ewerin frowned, "What bothers you Legolas?"  
He shook his head as though he was shaking away a dream. "What?"  
Ewerin looked at him curiously, and Gimili just game him a look as he finished his bowl. Seeing that this was an awkward situation he stretched.  
  
"Lady Ewerin I fear that you will put me to sleep forever." Gimili said with a sort of chuckle. "My stomach is full and I am weary from work. I think that I will take another rest, even if it only just a small nap." He left the table and gave a look to Legolas that told the elf that he was on his own for this one.   
Legolas watched Gimili leave and he cursed the dwarf for leaving him in a situation like this. He turned to see Ewerin still looking at him.  
"I am sorry Ewerin but I just have a lot of things on my mind."  
"Well there's only one way to get rid of the weight of those thoughts and that is to tell them. This is what my mother always said. I always told her everything. I was always wondering about things outside of this grove, wondering what else is out there and where my father had come from." Ewerin sighed, as her mind drifted off to a memory.  
Legolas took the information that she shared with him and jumped on it. "Then why don't you join Gimili and myself? We are traveling the lands, searching both mountains and forests."  
Ewerin was shocked at his offer. She was quiet for a while. "Leave...Leave home?" She stammered.  
"Yes, we could always come back this way if you are home sick. I am very sure that no one will find it. We were very lucky to find it ourselves."  
She stared off into space.  
Legolas stood up from his chair and went to her kneeling down next to her. "I will protect you from what ever you fear out there. You can trust me on that one."  
"I do not know Legolas. I have never been too far from my home. The farthest that I have ever gone is still in sight of this cottage."  
"Your decision does not have to be made right away, I can wait. I will wait. For as long as it takes you to decide."  
Ewerin smiled at him. "If I do go, do you promise to be there every step that I take?"  
"And every step before and after that one."  
Ewerin flung herself into his arms and started to sob.  
Legolas drew his arms around Ewerin; her head was buried into his shoulder. He rubbed at her back as one would an Elfling when he/she was scared of something in the night. He had done this countless times to his younger cousins when he found them crying in thier sleep. Legolas slowly rocked back and forth and Ewerin started to calm herself down.  
"Legolas. I am afraid." She whispered to him. Her voice muffled with the material of his shirt.  
Legolas pulled her from his shoulder to look her in the eyes. He wiped the tears away from her cheeks as they still rolled down her face.  
"I will let nothing harm you as long as I am alive. You understand that don't you?"  
She nodded. "I know."  
"Think a while on it, I did not ask of an answer yet."  
"I will think on it." Ewerin said finally.  
Legolas kissed the top f her brow and stood up helping her as he did, "You are weary from the work you did. Go and rest I will see to the cleaning."  
Ewerin didn't protest. She only nodded and went to her own room.   
Legolas sighed when she left the room and took the bowls that they had used over to the waterspout that has a basin underneath it. He pumped the water out of the faucet and let the water flow onto the dishes before he cleaned them and put them on a counter to wait for him to dry them.  
Legolas found a towel after washing the dishes and dried them along with his own hands. He had only really washed dishes once, it was when the fellowship was on thier journey and it was his turn to wash the plates that they had used for thier food.  
Finding his self with nothing to do he went outside and laid himself on the grass. His mind strayed to the rest of his friends that he had parted from not too long ago. He wanted Ewerin to meet all of them; the only thing was finding some of them. The shire is one place that he had never been to. He would have to ask Elrond, which is the right way to the strange halfling land.  
He thought of the small wondrous beings that they were, always hungry and always looking for something more. They were no more then the height of a child, but that was thier full height when they reached maturity.  
Pippin himself said before that he was not even out of his tweens when they had left the shire. He was the youngest out of any of the Hobbits. Being so he had always gotten himself in trouble, but he found the strength inside of him to rise to a knight in the land of Gondor, where Aragon now ruled.  
Aragon was the last of Isildur's line of heirs and now took up the place as the ruling King of Gondor.  
As his mind started to drift more he soon found himself fast asleep.   
Legolas woke up to the soft feel of water on his face, and he looked up to see that the sky had now darkened over and rain clouds greeted him from above. He sat up and looked about him. The signs of the dusk setting in were about him and he went inside. Everything was quiet inside and he could hear the soft breathing of both the people in the house from different rooms. Letting his elvish traits do what they do best he walked around the house with out even a sound.  
He found Gimili resting peacefully in thier shared room. Legolas would take the floor tonight, since he would let his dwarf friend get the comforts that he needed.  
Following the sound of her breathing he found Ewerin in a room just down the hall from the one Gimili slept in.  
She looked very beautiful to him now then she ever did. Legolas gave a silent sigh and turned to leave, but as he did Ewerin shifted in her sleep and murmured something that only his elven ears could pick up.  
"Legolas..." She said as she turned over.  
To his ears it seemed more of a sigh that a lover would give then someone dreaming. But he left it alone. Ewerin was too innocent to understand any of that.  
Legolas soon found a sitting room and a fireplace with no fire in it. He gathered up some wood from the kitchen and built a small fire. He wasn't cold because elves didn't feel the elements, it just helped light the room and take the gloom off the walls. He saw an old chair near the back wall and he lifted it and carried it over to sit in front of the fireplace letting his mind drift off into the dancing flames.   
Ewerin woke to the sound of the soft rain hitting the windows. She saw that it had nearly started to become dusk and she wondered if she had been actually that tired.  
She got up out of bed and found that she was cold, so she took a blanket and draped it around her shoulders. With the warmth of the blanket she went out of her room and saw that thier was a fire lit in the sitting room. She walked into the room and found her mother's old chair in front of the fireplace.  
Ewerin walked around to the front of the chair and saw Legolas sitting in it. She didn't bother to talk to him because he was already half sleeping. She just bundled the blanket more around her and sat by his feet. She leaned up against the chair, just as she would do when her mother sat in the same seat sewing or something else. She could almost hear her voice again.   
'Ewerin, if you don't stop running around like you do I fear that you won't have anything else to wear.' Ewerin's mother said to her in her mind, and she drifted back to the memory.  
'I'm sorry mother but I tripped on accident. Next time I won't.' She was just as child then no more then six or seven.  
'Accident or no, you still should be more at home, learning what you can.' Her mother said to her looking up from her work for a moment.  
'Why's that mother? Are you going to leave me?' Ewerin looked up to her mother and she could see her face again. It had the same look as it did when she had asked the question, sad and lonely.  
'Ewerin come here.' Her mother said and Ewerin climbed up into her lap. Her mother held her close. 'Ewerin you must understand. I will always be here for you even if I am not.'  
'Don't say things like that Mother, you'll always be with me.' Ewerin looked into her mother's eyes and they told the truth in them. 'Mother...' Ewerin's eyes filled with tears and she wrapped her arms around her mother not wanting to let go. She cried into her mother's shoulder until her gentle hands slowly pulled her away from the comforting shoulder.  
'Ewerin, I will pass from this world and you will stay here, until your time comes. But you must promise me that you will stay strong. Also remember that no one can hurt you unless you let them. You do not know how to fight, but you have the power to know the truth. I would never be telling you this unless it meant something.' Her mother was crying now. 'You know everything even now, although you don't understand it all you know much more then your years deceive of you. I grow older Ewerin. I will fade soon and you will be left alone, but do not give up faith. Someone will come for you. Do what your heart tells you. I would have never loved your father as much as I did if I had kept myself back. I saw the truth in him and I knew then that we were meant.' Her mother touched her forehead to Ewerin's. 'Ewerin trust in your heart it will never fail you.'   
Her mother's last words faded in her mind and she woke up with tears in her eyes. That was the last time that her and her mother had a talk, after that night she became ill. Ewerin stayed at her bedside every waking moment and did the best she could for some one so young. Her mother's last words stayed with her even though she tucked them in the very darkest corners of her mind.  
She kept her weeping soft so that she wouldn't wake the guests in the house. But when she felt a soft hand on her shoulder she knew that she had woken Legolas up.  
She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and looked at him, smiling. "I am sorry Legolas."  
"Why are you crying?" He asked softly. He stepped down from the chair and sat down next to her.  
"I was just thinking about my mother." Ewerin said as she smiled again. "Legolas, I have thought about your offer and I will follow where you lead."  
Legolas looked into her eyes. She just looked at him back and smiled. He could tell that whatever the memory was it meant something to help her with her decision.  
"I'm glad. We will leave tomorrow."  
"So soon?" Ewerin asked, finally realizing that she was finally leaving home.  
"Ewerin I made a promise to you that I would never let anything harm you. Not as long as I still walk in the woods."  
Ewerin took one of his hands and clasped it into her own. "I will follow my heart Legolas. It tells me no lies. I see only truth in you and I will follow." She said over coming the sinking feeling in her stomach.  
Legolas smiled at her. "I will tell Gimili of our plans to leave as soon as he has woken up. We will leave in the morning, once we have gotten everything packed and ready. We will travel for five days. Stopping at night. We are going to Rivendell."  
"Rivendell? What is that?"  
  
"It is the home of the Lord Elrond, and Arwen. Kin to my people. They are also elves, but of different kinds. I will not bore you on the history of elves for that is a subject that I myself find quite boring."  
Ewerin smiled, "What kind of person is bored of thier own history?"  
"One who knows the history lesson will take much explaining of the lines of the fathers before the actual person is named."  
Ewerin leaned against Legolas, "Then just tell me about your own family."  
"That is something I will leave for later also. But I can tell you about a story that is known well in my land."  
"That is better then nothing." Ewerin sighed.  
Legolas thought to himself for a moment thinking of a song that he knew well. "I know only part of one it is a sad tale but a good one at that. It is of the maiden Nimrodel." He began to sing very softly and Ewerin hardly had to strain to hear him with her ear so close to him. The song was short and when his voice faded, she didn't move. The song was sad as he had said and she had no response to it.  
"He must have loved her very much to do that." She finally said breaking the silence. "What is this Lorien?"  
"It is a place where the most fairest of all elves dwell."  
"Aye, that is one thing that I will have to agree on." Gimili said from the door. "I have seen the Lady of Light and she is the most fair that I have ever laid eyes on." He had a lost look in his eyes.  
"There is many things that you both speak of that I do not know anything of. But I guess that will all come with in time."  
"Yes it will." Legolas said to her. "Gimili, Ewerin has agreed to move on with us. We will leave in the morning when she is ready."  
Gimili exchanged a look with Legolas and then smiled. "That is good news." He walked over to the two and they moved so that he could sit in the chair. They sat on the floor by his sides.   
The night wore on and the three of them shared stories, and told Ewerin much of what thier friends were like. She seemed very interested in the hobbits and hoped that she would be meeting them soon. They told her little of the war, and she did not ask about it.  
She was amazed at the journey that they had taken and wondered why they were out again.  
"Why travel right after you have just endured much?"  
"We had made a promise to each other, and thought that it would be foolish to settle and then just go out again. So that is where we are."  
"That is wonderful." Ewerin yawed and looked out a window. Pale light fell over everything. "It is late, we should rest."  
"Yes we should. We have a long journey before us." Gimili said looking to Legolas. He exchanged a glance with the elf that told him they needed to talk.  
Legolas looked back at Ewerin and smiled. "Do not worry about us, we are used to traveling with out much sleep. We will be just as ready in the morning. You rest though."  
Ewerin smiled to them both and stood up, leaving the room.   
When Ewerin had left the room Legolas started to stare into the fire.  
Gimili cleared his throat, "Well Master Elf, you have shown me something new yet again. How did you do it, now that is the real mystery."  
"I don't know for sure Gimili. But I think she found it in her self. She has many memories of her mother and I think that is what helped her make her choice. She speaks of the woman very much." Legolas sighed, "And if you are also wondering if I had explained things to her, I didn't." He looked up to the dwarf. "I am leaving that for Arwen."  
"The Lady Evenstar will not be happy that you had appointed her with this."  
"She's owes me a favor."  
Gimili raised and eyebrow at Legolas. "Owes you?"  
Legolas smiled to himself. "It is a secret between me and Arwen."  
There was a silence between the two friends.  
"Where are we headed after we have reached Rivendell?" Gimili asked.  
"I do not know. I was planning on making that decision once we have gotten there." He thought to him self for a moment. "Ewerin was very enlightened by the Hobbits. I was thinking of going to the Shire and meeting up with our old friends once again."  
"That sounds good enough for me. I would much like to see the small fellows again."  
"I do not know the way to the Shire so I am asking Elrond when we get to Rivendell, how we should come about getting there."  
"A very wise choice."  
  
Legolas and Gimili talked well into the night over thier plans for what to do after they had reached Rivendell. But they settled themselves down for some sleep before the dawn woke them.  
  
Ewerin had woken up before the dawn had come, so that she could start to pack things that might be needed on the trip. She had found some old breeches and a linen shirt in one of the old trucks left by her mother. She guessed that they were her father's because of the size of them. But knowing how to alter cloths quickly came in handy because she fitted them to her own size. Ewerin thought that this would be much more comfortable when she was traveling then the long skirts that she usually wore.  
Although she had never done much traveling herself before, actually it was none at all, but either way she still thought of things that she thought she might need if she ever was away from home.  
Satisfied with everything that she had packed she went to go and wake up her companions.   
But it wasn't the dawn that opened thier eyes, it was Ewerin. She woke them both up gently. Shaking them lightly to wake them.  
Legolas woke up to her smiling face. He had indeed taken a resting place on the floor, but he was comfortable enough to get enough sleep that he needed. He smiled up to Ewerin.  
"Come on you two. There is much to get ready before we set out this morning. I have breakfast ready in the kitchen."  
Gimili and Legolas looked at each other. They couldn't explain the change in Ewerin about this trip if they wanted to.   
Having eaten something and just checking over thier gear, Legolas and Gimili were just about ready to set out.  
"Everything that I had come here with is still here. He said as he stood up and clasped the Lorien cloak around his shoulders. He then started to attach all of his weapons to his back and belt.  
Gimili finished looking through his pack for the last time and slung it over his back as he stood up. The elven cloak was already around his shoulders. He picked up his axe and placed it in his belt.  
"Shall we see if the Lady Ewerin is ready?" Gimili asked Legolas.  
"I'm all set," Ewerin said as she stood in the doorway. She was clad in her father's out fit, which her mother had made him to wear when he was well. It was altered of course, but it seemed to fit her perfectly. She had a small dagger at her own belt but that was the only weapon that she carried. Ewerin wore her own cloak of dark green, and a pack of her own was settled on her shoulders.  
"Then let us set out then." Legolas said as he led the way out of the door and to the woods. They had not gone a few feet into them when Ewerin stopped.  
Legolas stopped and looked behind himself at Ewerin. "Ewerin what is wrong?"  
"A few more paces and I will be the farthest from home." She said as she looked back longingly over her shoulder.  
Legolas went to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Do you want me to blind fold you so that you do not see this?"  
"No." She said shaking her head. "I will follow you where ever you lead." She took a few steps foward and didn't look back. Legolas smiled at her, and walked along side of her and Gimili. They walked for most of the morning and then till late afternoon and still they weren't outside of the forest that held Ewerin's home. They wouldn't reach the wood's end until nightfall. All the while Ewerin took in the sight of the lands about her. She hadn't really taken any notice to how long the small stream behind her cottage was. Now the small brook became wider and deeper. The small company stopped on its banks for something to eat. Ewerin stared into the depths of the river. A small silver thing was at the bottom of it. She had seen fish before but none this big. She put her finger into the water to try and touch it like she did with the ones at home, but this one sped away from her down the river as soon as her finger entered the water. "They will not come to me like they do at home." She said as she walked back to where Legolas and Gimili were sitting by a small fire. "That they won't, you are far off from home now and things won't be as friendly as they seem." Gimili said as he poked at the fire. Ewerin slumped down and sat cross-legged between the two. She stared into the flames of the fire letting her mind drift from her. "We will reach the edge of the wood by night fall." Legolas said to them. "There you will see open plains." He said as he smiled at Ewerin. "Plains?" "Open grasslands that stretch before your eyes. There are hardly any trees there but that is only because none have ever take root there." He said trying to reassure her, and make sure that she didn't get second thoughts on running back home. But when he looked her in the eyes, she was filled with wonderment at what this could all be. Legolas wondered what her reaction would be towards the sight of the Mountains that stood over her all these long years. They left within the hour, setting out to make thier goal in reaching the edge of the forest by nightfall.   
Just as Legolas said the woods started to thin at the fall of dusk and when the stars were just coming out of hiding; they came to the edge of the wood. Grasslands flowed like an ocean before them and Ewerin stared at them. The pale light of the rising moon made everything have silver glow to them.  
A wind spread over the grass and they waved in welcome to her.  
Legolas put a hand on her shoulder and she looked at him. "What do you think of it?"  
  
"It's beautiful." She said looking back to the open spaces. "Breath taking almost."  
Legolas chuckled, "There is much more to see as we move on. And after we have reached Rivendell Gimili and I plan to take you to see each of our friends."  
Ewerin smiled broadly at him and she hugged him, and Gimili.  
"Thank you both. I don't know if there is anything that I can give to you in return. This is the greatest gift that I have ever gotten." She was almost tearful.  
"To see that you are happy is all that we want." Gimili said as he looked to Legolas. Legolas was smiling at Ewerin.   
Ewerin found it hard to sleep when they had finally settled down for rest. They had a light dinner but filling. All the excitement of these new lands that she was going to see brought up questions in her mind. She sat up from where she laid down. In between the two of them, she had felt safer if they were like this. Not wanting to wake them up she just sat there quietly and looked to the sky, the stars winked at her.  
She sighed and started to hum the lullaby that her mother sung to her, and the one that she and Legolas knew.  
Legolas next to her shifted in his sleep and turned to face her. He had only a thin blanket over him, and he used his cloak for a pillow. Some how sleeping on the ground didn't bother him, but Ewerin took it as something that came with journeying as much as he did.  
She yawned to herself and laid back down, she had to get some sleep if she was ever going to be able to keep up when they set out in the morning. Thinking to her self she cept slightly closer to Legolas. She felt strangely more comfortable this way and she moved as close to him as possible with out waking him. She found that it was much easier to sleep if she was next to him and she fell into a peaceful sleep.   
Dawn came quickly, because before she knew it the light of the sun had woke Ewerin up. She blinked them open and saw how close she now was to Legolas. 'I must have shifted in my sleep closer to him.' She tried to move herself carefully away from him without waking him, but his arm was around her waist.  
Ewerin could feel herself blush furiously and she had no idea what to do.  
"Legolas..."  
No response.  
"Legolas..."  
He grumbled, and only drew her closer to himself.  
"Legolas..." She said a bit more loudly, she didn't want to wake Gimili also.  
He made no effort of letting go; with her free hand she touched his face lightly. He scrunched it up and it twitched. Ewerin saw the fun that it was and did it again. This time he took his arm from her and rubbed at his face. She took this moment to roll away from him, but just enough to get out of his hold and not bump into Gimili.  
She sighed to her self and set about making the fire for breakfast, well that was until she saw the land before her. Not caring if they wanted to get up or not she went over to both of them and shook them awake.  
"You have to see this. Come on wake up." She said eagerly.  
The two had no heart to tell her off so they got up and looked out over the plains with her for a while.  
"It's even more beautiful then it is in the twilight." She said as he eyes sparkled with wonderment. She saw that there were mountains in the east and stared in awe at them when thier peaks reached into the clouds.   
They left with the light of the morning on them. Ewerin walked with a small skip in her step that made Legolas and Gimili smile. She loved the way that she felt so free in this open country. It was like the grove where her cottage was but much bigger and she could run as far as she wanted and always see something new.  
She sang to herself loud and clear. It was about the mountains and everything that was in her view. She made it up as she went along but it seemed as though that she had learned it out of ancient lore that told about the making of the world.  
"She knows much about this land yet she has never walked it." Gimili said to Legolas.  
"No. She is telling the story how she sees it. No lore that I have ever heard had put it so beautifully. We will have to ask her to sing it to the elves that dwell in Rivendell. They will sing it in thier hearts for many yeas after." Legolas said with a smile.   
The next few days were just like the rest. The mountains stayed on thier right and they made thier way ever north. They would make thier way into Rivendell in the next two days.  
"It is so much more different here from where we had first set out from." Ewerin said as she looked around herself. "Many trees are before us. The plains are decreasing."  
"And they will still yet. We have traveled far and not all lands are the same. Many this differ from where we started." Legolas said from where he was laying down staring at the starry sky.  
"The air grows cooler, I can feel that." Ewerin said as she drew her cloak closer to herself.  
"And it will continue to do so. Up here the seasons change with much effect and they are heading into thier autumn up here. The air becomes cooler as the year goes on and soon thier will be snow covering the ground."  
"Snow?" Ewerin said as she looked to Legolas curiously.  
"You have never seen a snow fall before?"  
"Is that anything like the rain?"  
  
"No it is much different," Gimili said from the fire.  
"Then what is it?" Ewerin said as she sat down next to Legolas but faced Gimili.  
Legolas sat up so that his back was to the fire and that he was still watching the stars. "It is very hard to describe. Sometimes it can look as light as small pieces of clouds falling from the sky, or it can turn ugly and wipe away the vision of a traveler." He sighed. "But it is something to see. The air becomes very cool and you are able to see your own breath in front of your face. When it touches your skin it melts away into water and trickles down like a tear drop on a cheek." He looked back at his two companions and they both were listening intently to hear what the elf had to say. "Once you have seen your first snow fall you will understand Ewerin."   
The weather grew a bit colder and Legolas gave his cloak to Ewerin. She put it under her own and used it as an extra lining.  
"Are you sure that you won't be cold, Legolas?"  
"Very sure, we elves don't feel the elements as much as you do." He said with a smile as she clasped the cloak around her shoulders and ran her fingers over the broach at her throat.  
"This is very pretty. Where did you get it?"  
"That was a gift from the Lady of Lorien when she gave us the cloaks. 'Dark will the days be when a leaf of Lothlorien falls.' That is one of the lores there. Many of the elves that live there have similar tokens."  
Ewerin just smiled to him and they started off again. They would arrive at the borders of Rivendell by the time evening comes around and already they had most of the day to get through.  
"Legolas when we get there, will I meet more people?" Ewerin said quietly.  
"Of course."  
She was quiet after that.  
"Don't worry Lady Ewerin the elves there will be plenty grateful that you are gracing thier fine halls. They do not though welcome dwarves very well."  
"Well, why not? You don't seem that bad Gimili." Ewerin said as her brows knitted together.  
"Dwarves and Elves do not get along with each other too well."  
"But you and Legolas..."  
He stopped her in mid sentence. "We have found that we do not have many differences and put the past of our races behind ourselves. Most elves do not find it worth thier while to make any deal with a dwarf and we feel the same way." Gimili said.  
"Well why not?"  
  
"It happened long ago. There was an elf lord who defeated a dragon and found its treasure." Legolas said. "The dwarves wanted it for themselves and he wouldn't give it to them. Instead he sent them a necklace made out of the dragon's teeth. The dwarves were furious and killed him, and that is why most elves, excuse Gimili and I, hate each other."  
"Aye, that is how it happened but it was the dwarf's right to take what is his. That dragon was a menaces to the mountain."  
"Don't start on that now Gimili." Legolas said as he partly glared at him. "Ewerin doesn't need to be bothered with our dark pasts. She hasn't been bothered by it for so many years and she doesn't need to be now."  
"Don't worry Legolas, I think this is for the best. Now that I am in this world, I should know about these things, least I fall into trouble by not knowing."  
Legolas sighed. He didn't think that she should have to be burdened with knowing of such things, especially when the dark lord had been defeated just a few months before and the land had become the way it used to be.   
They made thier camp inside a forest. The plains were far behind them now and being well on thier way they had made it into Rivendell. Legolas said that they would come to the House of Elrod in the afternoon tomorrow.  
"You will like to see the halls of Rivendell. This is where Lord Elrond rules over. He is a very wise lord and will be very kind in you coming to him."  
Ewerin smiled. "You both will stay by my side when I do meet all of these people, won't you?"  
"Of course."  
"We wouldn't leave you alone if we were killed." Gimili said.  
"Well then come on we better get some rest. I surely don't want to look weary when I do meet the people of Rivendell." Ewerin said as she rolled herself in her blanket and lay down next to the fire. Legolas and Gimili looked at each other and just smiled.   
Ewerin was shooken awake. She blinked open her eyes to see that it was still dark out.  
"What is it?" She said as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. When she was fully awake she could see that there was someone else standing with Gimili with two horses.  
Her eyes went wide and she grabbed Legolas's arm. "Who is he?"  
"Don't be afraid he is Elladan, a son of Elrond." Legolas whispered to her. "He is here to bring us to the House and see that we are well taken care for."  
They gathered up thier packs and put them on the horses. Ewerin avoided the gaze of the new elf that had joined them, she knew in her heart that she would need to greet this elf but she couldn't muster up the courage to do so.  
"Ewerin come here." Legolas called her over as she was putting out the fire, trying to keep herself busy. She went over to him, but kept her eyes down cast.  
"Elen s(la l(men' omentielvo." He said in a very deep voice and bowed before her.  
She flushed but couldn't respond. She bowed back slightly. "Thank you...I think. I am sorry but I do not know what you have just said." She said blushing and stammering.  
"A star shines on the hour of our meeting, that is what I have said to you. I am Elladan, son of Elrond." He bowed again.  
"I am Ewerin. It is an honor to meet you." She bowed slightly again.  
"Lady Ewerin it is my honor to bring you along with my friends to Rivendell. There you will take comfort in beds and we shall meet again in the morning." He hopped on to on of the horses. Gimili climbed up behind him.  
Legolas lead her to the other horse and put her onto it's back. He sprang up from the ground to sit behind her. The horse had no saddle, since that is the way that the elves rode. He spoke soft words to the horse that they sat on and the two horses made thier way through the woods.  
Legolas held Ewerin around the waist with one arm and reins were held in his other hand.  
"Legolas?"  
"Hmmm..."  
"Will all my meetings be like that?"  
"Many elves will welcome you in thier own tongue, but that is the way that they are. You will get used to it after a while."  
"The language is very beautiful. I would love to hear more of it."  
"And you will as long as we are in Rivendell."  
"Maybe you could teach me something so that I can be able to talk with you in your own language."  
"You will learn it some day." Legolas said. "For now rest again. We will reach Rivendell faster then what we thought and once we get there I will place you in a bed."  
Ewerin sighed against him and rested her head against his shoulder. She wanted to see what Rivendell looked like when she got there. "Legolas, please wake me when we reach Rivendell. I would much like to see it, even if we will be in twilight."  
"I will Ewerin, rest now."  
  
The sound of the hoof beats and Legolas's breathing made it easy for her to sleep. She had fallen asleep the nights before by lying close to him. He had never caught on that each morning she had found her self closer to him, just like this when she woke.  
She smiled to herself as she drifted off into a peaceful dream. But what she thought was a dream was nothing but brightness around her. She felt safe and comfortable there. It reminded her of being in his arms and she moved closer to him with out knowing.   
"Ewerin. We are here." Legolas whispered to her.  
She opened her eyes and looked to the world beyond her. They were now on a cliff path and before them was a great valley with waterfalls streaming over a cliff and into the valley below the suspended houses. The moon gave everything a silver glow, even if it wasn't a full moon. Ewerin believed that it glowed with the light of the stars instead of the moon. She gaped at the sight of it and took Legolas's hand to get his attention.  
"It is beautiful more then words can express."  
"You shall see it from inside of the house as soon as we get there."   
The rest of the ride only took a few more moments. They came through an arched door way and into a courtyard. Two elves came to them and took the horses.  
"What about the packs?" Ewerin said, as she looked at her pack on the back of the horse leave her.  
"They will be brought to us. Don't worry, we are among friends now." Legolas said as they walked up to Elladan.  
"My father will meet with you in the morning. I will show you to where you may rest until then." Elladan said as he turned around and walked up stairs.  
The three of them followed him. He stood in between two doors when they finally had caught up with him. Ewerin wanted to take in so much of this place that she often stopped the two companions to gaze upon something.  
"These will be the two rooms that you can use. Lady Ewerin in the one to my left." He raised his left hand in front of the door. "And Legolas and Gimili here in the one to my right. Cloths have been provided for you and your packs will be brought to you as you sleep. I shall part from you now." And with a bow he left them.  
Ewerin walked in her room reluctantly and shut the door behind herself. There was a friendly fire in the fireplace waiting for her on the other side of the room. There was a very soft looking bed on the other side of the room and there was some cloths laid out on the bed.  
  
She looked down to her travel worn cloths and decided that the new ones wouldn't kill her. The thing that she didn't understand though, was how the elves here at Rivendell knew of thier coming. Letting her weariness take over her she crawled into the bed and laid down in the soft sheets. But all that she could do was stare at the ceiling.  
  
Sitting up in bed she drew her knees close to her chest and looked around the room. There was a door against one wall, and it faced the room that Legolas and Gimili were sent to. Curiosity took her over and she walked over to it and softly knocked.  
After a few moments the door opened and Legolas stood before her. He smiled warmly at her.  
"I am sorry for bothering you, I just was curious to where this door leads."  
"That is alright Ewerin, I know your curiosity gets the better of you sometimes." He flushed a little as the memory of what happened in the garden came back to him, but he still smiled at her. He would talk to Arwen after they have talked with Elrond.  
"Is it alright if I leave this door open?" Ewerin asked.  
"It is fine by me, as long as you don't mind hearing Gimili's snoring."  
"I wouldn't be talking Master Elf you are not the most soundless sleepers either sometimes. I have heard you before and you are worse then a cave troll with a cold."  
"Gimili, Elves do not snore."  
"That's what they want you to think." Gimili said back, he was just fooling around with the elf and comparing him to the cave troll was way over exaggerating. Legolas slept very soundlessly, even so it seemed as though he was dead.  
  
Ewerin smiled at the two.   
The said goodnight to each other and went to their separate beds. But Ewerin found it was hard to fall asleep even though she had many comforts around her. None though could match what she felt around Legolas. She finally crept out of bed and stood in the doorway. Gimili already was snoring lightly and she smiled. That sound had been next to her for a few nights now and she found the sound not annoying but comforting.  
She walked softly over to Legolas's bed and stood there. She reached a hand over him and he turned over slowly/  
"Ewerin what is wrong. Can you not sleep?" He said looking at her and sitting up in bed. His voice was soft, like one that he would use with a child.  
Ewerin nodded. She didn't want to speak fearing that she would wake Gimili.  
"Would you like me to sit with you until you fall asleep?"  
Ewerin nodded slightly. That was at least better then falling asleep alone.  
  
Legolas shut the door behind himself when he came into Ewerin's room.  
"Thank you Legolas. I fear that I have grown to like sleeping next to another and I don't want to sleep alone any more." Ewerin said as she climbed beneath the sheets again.  
Legolas smiled to her and drew up a chair next to the bed. "I will stay here until you fall asleep." He said as he yawned a little.  
"I don't want to take you from sleep if I am." Ewerin said as soon as she saw that he was yawing.  
Legolas smiled at her and caressed her face. "Do not worry so much for me. I can survive on very little sleep for days. That is one of the traits of the elves."  
"You are a wondrous race."  
"We are, but I fear we are dimishing."  
"Why is that?"  
"Most of the elves have already journeyed to the Grey Heavens, the final resting place for all elves. Many still dwell here but there will come a time that the rest of us will follow and move to the Grey Heavens across the sea." He began to sing:   
'To the Sea, to the Sea! The white gulls are crying,  
The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying.  
West, west away, the round sun is falling.  
Grey ship, grey ship, do you hear them calling,  
The voices of my people that have gone before me?  
I will leave, I will leave the woods that bore me;  
For our days are ending and our years are failing.  
I will pass the wide waters lonely sailing.  
Long are the waves on the Last Shore falling,  
Sweet are the voices in the Lost Isle calling,  
In Eress(a, in Elvenhome that no man can discover.  
Where the leaves fall not: land of my people for ever!' By the time Legolas finished Ewerin was drifting into the dream that her mind would give her. He smiled and kissed her forehead before her went out of the room keeping the door open as he left. Legolas woke the next morning when the sun hit his face. He was surprised to see that he had not woken when the sun had risen and went to get up. But when he did he found that he couldn't because he was holding on to something. Thought it was rather someone then something. He looked down to find that in his arms Ewerin was sleeping peacefully.  
"Ewerin..." He whispered to her quietly. Ewerin stirred in her arms and sighed, but when she woke up fully and noticed where she was she panicked and tried to scramble away from him. Her result in doing so made her fall off of the bed. "Ewerin are you alright?" Legolas said as he looked over the side at her. "Yes, Legolas, I am fine." She said with a faint blush on her face. "Though this is something that I cannot explain." She said as she stood up. "I cannot either when I left you, you were in your own bed." "I think I have walked over here in my sleep. I am very sorry." Ewerin was now bright red. "That is alright Ewerin, but if you feel more comfortable now sleeping with another I would be more then glad to help you in that. We elves do not frown upon having friends share a bed." "Are you sure?" Legolas nodded and smiled at her. "Speaking of friends, where had Gimili gone?" Ewerin asked as she looked to the empty bed on the other side of the room. "That is something that I would like to know also." Legolas said as he stood up. They dressed again and went in search of Gimili. They found him sitting on a bench next to a very old man. Ewerin looked at him strangely because he so small. "Legolas, is that just a very old child?" "No that is a halfling, a Hobbit. His name is Bilbo. He will not harm you and is a very gentle soul." Legolas said as they were approaching the two. Bilbo looked up at them and smiled. "Well hello there, my dear friend! How is everything with you? And who is this lovely woman that you have with you?" Bilbo asked. Legolas smiled, he had always liked the old hobbit and would very much like to speak to him again. "Bilbo, this is Ewerin. She is some what different from the rest of us and was not effected by the war at all." But before Legolas could finish Bilbo's head dropped to his chest and he was snoring lightly. Gimili looked at them. "He has been doing that ever so often, he says that he hasn't got much strength left to keep himself awake much." He said in a whisper. Ewerin looked at him curiously. "He is so old, and weathered. Does everyone get like that?" Legolas looked to Ewerin, he had forgotten for a moment that Ewerin had never seen anyone old. She had never been exposed to such things as this. Her mother had died when she was still young and her years weren't nearly as complete as they should have been. "When years put a tax on you, yes." He said and Bilbo sprang back to life as though he had never drifted off into sleep.  
  
Ewerin, Legolas and Gimili talked a while over a small meal that they shared with the old hobbit. He was very kind to Ewerin and she was more drawn to him then she was when she had been when she first met Legolas and Gimili. Though their breakfast ended when a messenger came for them to bring them to Lord Elrond. Ewerin clung to Legolas's arm as they walked behind the messenger elf and went into a large room. Elladan stood next to another elf. The one that he stood next to looked at them with a high authority. Legolas bowed deeply, making Ewerin do the same since she still clung to his arm. "Lord Elrond, it is most gracious for you to take us in on such short notice." "Having friends stay is not a burden, so do not worry yourselves. We had heard of your coming two days before you entered into the lands of Rivendell. Travelers that have already left had passed you by through the night and heard of your plans to come here." Ewerin shrunk under his gaze as he turned to her. "But there is one thing that I would want to clear up. I would much want to know why you have brought a mortal woman here. She is much welcome just as you are but such things are uncommon now a days." Legolas looked at him, "She is no mortal woman, Lord Elrond, but an Immortal. The depths of her years only show in her eyes. She may be just as old as any elf my age." Elrond looked into Ewerin's eyes and held her gaze. Ewerin tried to divert her eyes somewhere else but she found that she couldn't move them. After a few moments Elrond returned his gaze to Legolas. "You are right Legolas of Mirkwood. She has countless years despite her looks. But how has one become so aged?" Ewerin looked at the Elf Lord. There was something about him that made him seem like he was something else. "Excuse me.but if you don't mind me asking, you are not a full elf are you?" Lord Elrond's eyes widened in shock, "That is true. I am only half elvish. But how did you know that?" "I'm not sure," Ewerin said as she diverted her eyes. "I think it has something to do with something that my mother told me long ago. I believe she said, 'You have the power to know the truth.' I'm not sure what it means." "What ever it is, it is a great power," Elladan said to her.  
"A power that, used in the wrong hands can be dangerous." Elrond said. "Truth has many forms and some of them can be used against another. Truth can also be bended."  
Ewerin gulped, she had no idea that this was that much of a big deal. But with out knowing anything about these people or these lands she guess it was much to them. She had no idea where this whole thing would lead her and she took Legolas's hand in hers. 


End file.
